Six years after the deluge that partly washed away the embankment of Kempuhole River along the Shiradi Ghat on Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway 75, the National Highways Division of the Karnataka Public Works Department has commenced the permanent restoration of the affected stretches.
Kempuhole River embankment was affected in at least 13 locations along the 25 km Shiradi Ghat stretch during the torrential rains of August 2018. While vehicular movement was completely banned through the ghat for a couple of months, small vehicles were allowed thereafter, followed by buses and finally trucks.
With temporary protection measures in place including barricading the affected stretches, it was business as usual since 2019 even as the NH-PWD was working on the modalities of the restoration of affected stretches.
A senior engineer with the NH-PWD told The Hindu that the department has undertaken permanent restoration work of the affected stretches at a tendered cost of about ₹14 crore for about a fortnight. Concrete retaining walls are being built from the base of the river till the concrete road level at these locations to restore the road width.
The chosen contractor has deployed men and machinery at multiple locations, including near the Chowdeshwari Temple on Dakshina Kannada-Hassan district border for speedy execution of the work. The Chowdeshwari Temple stretch had witnessed massive landslide during 2018. The entire work should get completed before the onset of the Southwest Monsoon, the engineer added.
Soon after the landslides, the Union Road Transport Ministry conducted a study by experts from the Indian Institute of Science to recommend measures for the permanent restoration of the affected stretches. Later in 2020, its Minister Nitin Gadkari announced sanctioning ₹125 crore for the restoration of three major Ghats connecting the coast, Sampaje on NH 275, Shiradi and Charmadi on NH 73 that were affected in the 2018 rains.
Vulnerable locations identified
The engineer said the PWD has also identified 10 more locations that are vulnerable for landslip or landslide during the heavy rains along the Shiradi Ghat. It has sent a report to the Union Road Transport Ministry seeking funds for preventive restoration works on these locations, he added.
